Approach
RBC believes in contributing to communities in which we operate,
across North America and around the world.
The RBC Community Blueprint
As a large, global financial institution with more than 18
million clients and approximately 80,000 employees, RBC is
expected to provide a broad base of support to a wide range
of causes, and we take this responsibility seriously.
As one of North America's leading financial institutions,
we have chosen to focus our donation and sponsorship support
on key issues within the educational, environmental, healthcare,
athletic, arts and social service communities. At the same
time, we continue to provide a broad base of support across
all charitable sectors.
We refer to this approach as the RBC
Community Blueprint, which lays out our vision for helping
create stronger communities.
Cornerstones
Donations and sponsorships are the cornerstones of the RBC
Community Blueprint, and both can have a positive social impact,
but they are undertaken with different objectives. Donations
are given as gifts, with no strings attached. RBC is considered
one of Canada's premier philanthropic donors. Below, we have
provided an explanation of how we give..
Our tradition of philanthropy dates back to our roots, with
donations on record as far back as 1891. We are one of Canada's
largest corporate donors and a member of Imagine Canada, which
encourages philanthropy and citizenship, and are committed
to donating at least 1% of pre-tax domestic profits measured
on a five-year rolling average.
Sponsorships are undertaken and negotiated for strategic
marketing purposes that align with our brand and business
goals and are expected to deliver a quantifiable return on
investment. We pursue sponsorship opportunities that are important
for our clients, our communities and our businesses.
Governance
The member companies of RBC administer charitable donations
in Canada through RBC Foundation, established in 1993. Our
Donations Policy covers our guidelines and strategy and is
reviewed by the Corporate Governance and Public Policy Committee
of the Board of Directors.
RBC Foundation has its own Board of Directors, representing
each of RBC's businesses, to set policy and ratify all donations
made in North America. The Foundation is staffed by five employees.
To ensure our giving fulfils local needs, we also have professional
grant-makers situated in each of our regional Canadian headquarters
as well as in our United States and Caribbean businesses.
Due Diligence
RBC Foundation in Canada received about 30,000 requests for
funding in 2009 - more than 10 requests for every hour of
the business day. With this many proposals, we notice when
mandates of different charities overlap and we encourage synergies
between organizations. Our goal is to ensure that our charitable
partners have sustainable sources of funding and use their
donors' funds responsibly. In 2009, RBC approved almost 7,600
donations to charitable groups in communities across North
America. Over 80% of these donations were under $20,000, providing
a broad base of support.
Our grant-makers follow a rigorous process when evaluating
proposals to ensure our funds are invested with the utmost
care and responsibility. We look at whether the charity has
a wide range of support and assess its ability to deliver
programs. We assess the charity's fiscal management and governance
practices and require that all charities provide audited financial
statements when requesting donations over $5,000.
Social Impact
RBC requires, where possible, that our charitable partners
demonstrate the social impact of our contribution and provide
details about the successes and challenges they encounter
during the time they receive funding. Recognizing the effort
that is needed to report the good works our charitable partners
do with our funding, RBC has established a set of tiered guidelines
for reporting, as follows:
Reporting Guidelines for Charitable Partners
| Donation Amount |
Reporting |
| Less than $5,000 |
Acknowledgement of receipt
of donation |
| From $5,000 to $24,999* |
Letter detailing how RBC funds were spent |
| From $25,000 to
$99,999* |
Funding request must
include goals and objectives
Evaluation report including key outcomes and challenges
against primary goals |
| $100,000* and above |
Funding request must include program goals
and outcome measurements
Annual update must include progress against goals and
measurements, how key objectives were met and challenges
against primary goals
Annual update should also include percentage of funds
raised against the private sector goal when the request
is part of a capital campaign |
* We require audited financial statements for any donation
over $5,000.
